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History of House Stonehearth
Notes on the Lineage House Stonehearth began officially in 1296 with the matrimonial union of two families in Baldur's Gate. One minor noble, and one more significant (or at least monied) noble family, was a fusion of iconoclasts, visionaries, heretics and renegades. The fusion of families created a fusion name – and the birth of a phenomenon. While there were regional differences in the treatment and rules of nobility and aristocracy, including guidelines for the heirs apparent, the differences in gods, sects, and local political custom kept inheritance laws fast and loose in Baldur's Gate. The Greathearth customs largely became the Stonehearth customs, including absolute primogeniture, though even those were flexible before a family council of "good sense." The House was more than just a political unit, it was a merchant company, so leadership could be shared, rotated or delegated, even if the public face of the family was only the figurehead for daily operations. Likewise, incoming suitors had to agree to adopt the family name and existing structure. As yet, Stonehearth hadn't found itself in a position where it might "marry up" to a higher political position, so matters of Stonehearth being subsumed into another House wasn't yet an issue. One thing the Stonehearth clan found some regularity on was the general pacing of the next generation. For as much as the family embraced non-traditional traditions, there was no small pressure for the heirs apparent to be on a schedule for ensuring continuity. Definitions of Nobility There were established norms and customs for the legal viability and continuity of a Baldur's Gate patriar that House Stonehearth had to adhere to. The restrictions were minor in comparison to some lands, with the flexibility owing to the whole nature of the founding of the city. In the grand scheme of nobility, a partriar was roughly the equivalent of a baronet: a minor land owner within the city and/or immediately outside of it. The dukes, originally named in jest, were more significant land owners within the city, with a certain distribution of land within roughly a 25-mile radius outside of (mostly keeping to the near north side of the river). The dukes, in this case, would fall somewhere between a baron and a viscount. Baldur's Gate Houses were established as much as holding companies as any form of continuity of blood family upon which a crown claim might be made. Power in the city was partially determined by how much money a House made – and contributed for the operations of the city. The original "Grand Dukes" were the largest holders of real estate in the city, ergo the biggest collectors of rent. That, in turn, proved the Golden Rule: he who has the gold, makes the rules. The gradual sale of city real estate, and the recognition of ownership of land outside the gates (where the food was grown – and had to be protected), led to the rise of patriar class beneath the dukes. This group was considered city contributors – patrons – and thus the rise of the patriars. The Blood continuity became an issue not based on ownership but rather the weight of a vote. The Greathearth family were a diversified merchant House in the city and holders of significant city real estate, though most of that land was used for business rather than rent. Upon the initial creation of House Stonehearth, continuity was granted from the last 150 years of Greathearth city participation. At the wedding, Arwyn Greathearth passed House authority to her daughter Marian, who became the titular leader (though effectively, it was a House rule by committee). House Stonehearth officially began at the level of a baronetcy, later elevating to a barony (closer to a county for Tethyr's Impresk barony), then the marquisate to the north (where the size was on the small side, but they were effectively operating as independent sovereignty). Term of Reign Given the power of the House, there was flexibility within the designation of the heir, with the greatest weight given to absolute primogeniture, but with allowances made for health, will and so on. Once the heir was designated, they were the executive authority until they stepped down. Based on the history of the family, it had been customary to step down to guide from the council while putting the younger heir apparent in the political seat while they still had the energy. There were other instances where the second born inherited the mantle after the first died, as well as inheriting the House after the first born abdicated. The average length of reign was about 20 years, with the executive stepping aside to be a senior advisor or most-trusted representative of the House. This also helped smooth the cycle of succession so transfers of power weren't contingent upon death. As magic increased lifespans, it also deepened the pool of trusted advisors and representatives that could be employed and deployed in furtherance of the House. The Line of Succession 1296: Marriage *'The Bridal Side (Arwyn Greathearth, 1st generation, House Stonehearth)' **''Marian Greathearth, human (possibly some dwarven mix) ***Baldur's Gate patriar (noble) ***Member of the Merchant's League **''Jack Merrywine: ''human ***Former clergy of Sune ***Magically functional cleric, sorcerer; activist/adventurer *'The Groom Side (Sovan Stone, 1st co-generation, House Stonehearth)' **''Veerei Oghmason: ''human ***Candlekeep expatriate ***Baldur's Gate specialty merchant (member of the Merchant's League) **''Rugnald Stone: human ***Baldur's Gate minor patriar ***Cormyr expatriate (and former soldier) 1297: Birth of the Heir * Valene Stonehearth, female human * 2nd generation, House Stonehearth * Reign: 1319-1340 1315: Marriage * Valene Stonehearth (18) to... ** A scholar and scribe. Focused on the scroll inscription portion of the family business and eventual eventually became a bard/wizard-class adventurer, who produced and used her own scrolls. Her missions were usually research-related. She became Chief of House and Gate patriar, but left day-to-day operations to other family. ** Notable: Valene was instrumental in the research of raw magic and the eventual creation of the Stonehearth primal magic method. * Tytus Banj, male human (22). Baldur's Gate commoner, fighter. ** Tytus had been in the Stonehearth Arms from his 17th birthday, most recently proving his valor and intelligence while repelling demons at the Dragonspear castle interdiction. After a 2-year semi-secret romance, he won the blessing of the family and the marriage took place after his survival at Dragonspear. As he married into a patriar family, he adopted the family name. 1316: Birth of the Heir * Piers Stonehearth, male human * 3rd generation, House Stonehearth * Reign: 1340-1365 1337: Marriage * Piers Stonehearth, House (21) ** Piers had started down the road of House leadership early, training as Swordmage from a young age. It was the natural medium between the substantial martial prowess of the Stonehearth Arms and the massive magical presence of the SMC. ** Piers was a "high-value target," subject to several attempts at kidnap-and-ransom schemes, but his own skill as a swordmage foiled those attacks – though innocent bystanders were sometimes caught in the crossfire. ** Because of the growing security threats, Piers pushed hard on the study and creation of mythals and mythallars, coordinating the creation of those energized wards to protect family within the city. * Leiloo Zavrakata, female human (20), Halruaan commoner; sorcerer/wizard ** Hailing from Zalazuu, Halruaa, Leiloo was a natural sorcerer in a land of wizards. In fact, her sorcery was a contamination side-effect of magic production in Zalazuu in what was still a poorly understood environmental effect. While she wasn't the only one to suffer becoming a natural caster, that didn't stop the magical caste of Halruaa from heaping scorn upon her. While she learned to become a wizard, her sorcery was often a dead giveaway – especially as she was learning to use metamagic on wizard spell castings. ** Leiloo met Piers as a function of SMC trade with Halruaa, and found he had no biases against sorcerers (and was quite charming in her own right). ** Leiloo went on to become fully vested in the Stonehearth magic system, with her personal contribution of heavy research into metamagic-enabled scrolls. 1339: Birth of the Heir * Barrett Stonehearth, male human (d. [https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/1363_DR 1363]' DR') * Everett Stonehearth (b. 1341), was the second child of Piers and Leiloo, and became heir apparent on the death of his older brother. Both brothers were at the Edificant Library in 1363 DR during Kierkan Rufo's attack. Barrett died in the fighting, Everett survived. ** The Stonehearth relationship with the fortress-library went back to the days Rugnald Stone after he'd been a scholar there (after banishing himself from Cormyr). ** The library didn't suffer the same damage in this timeline, though the entirety of the staff was killed (as before), with Everett assisting Cadderly in the battle and aftermath. ** The library was razed and the Spirit Soaring cathedral built in its place; but the surviving collections, artifacts and tomes were purchased by Stonehearth and transported to Baldur's Gate. * 4th generation, House Stonehearth * Reign: 1365-1391 1364: Marriage * Everett Stonehearth, House (23) ** Everett was a soldier-scholar who'd taken considerable interest in the Stonehearth Arms. Always more brash than his older brother, much of that was simply because he was second in line and could get away with greater risks. His arcane talents were minimal – though he did have some – but he took considerable interest in alternatives. He was instrumental in pursuing psionics, especially those in Tethyr (where he and his wife frequently visited). * Salestra Impresk, human female (25), baroness apparent, Impresk barony, Kingdom of Tethyr. ** Having grown up during a decades-long civil war in Tethyr, Salestra had been sent off by her father to the Edificant Library in the Snowflake Mountains to become a cleric of Deneir. The clerical role was both cover and backup should the family fall during the civil war (and all the other afflictions the barony suffered). ** Salestra was present during the battle of Edificant Library and was friends with both Stonehearth brothers. She fell in love with Everett after the incident and departed Impresk for Baldur's Gate. ** Relations were established between the barony and the Gate patriars, with the barony entering the Stonehearth portfolio on the death of Haubern Impresk, Baron of Impresk ([https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/1374_DR 1374]' DR'). This gave Stonehearth jurisdiction of the highest mountains in southern Faerûn and an avenue of connection to the Tethyr Crown. 1365: Birth of the Heir * Ariqa Stonehearth, female human * 5th generation, House Stonehearth * Reign: 1391-1412 1385: Marriage * Ariqa Stonehearth, House (20) ** She was married in the year of the Spellplague, was the second generation to start adjunct psionic training, and watched her parents cultivate the relationship with the first Stonehearth territory outside of the reach of Baldur's Gate. It was tumultuous education. ** Ariqa was instrumental in the decision to declare themselves a marquisate and rebase in the north. It was her leadership that chose a marquisate in contested territory as a way of proving the mettle of Stonehearth to the world. ** She was a good fighter, a good magician, a good psion, a great logistician, a brilliant strategist – and a transcendent, inspirational leader. * Wyndam Usunaar, ~human (1/4th elf) commoner wizard (26), Myth Drannor/Dalelands area. ** Wyndam had grown up during the reclamation of Myth Drannor, his own lineage being 3/4ths human and 1/4th elf (whose family had refused to abandon the area). Pure of heart, he'd embraced the best of human and elf culture alike – and fit into neither because of it. ** Wyndam was exceptionally gifted at the arcane, who had picked up points of Elven High Magic (Rituals of Solitude, much to the annoyance of the elves). That annoyance included attempts on his life, and he fled the area – naturally going to the most magical place he'd heard of: the Stonehearth zones of Baldur's Gate. ** He tested into the Stonehearth Arcane Corps (ArCorps) and was immediately assigned to further research of elven magic (mostly to avoid their mistakes). When he started studying the Stonehearth way of making mythals, he caught the eye of Ariqa and the rest was history. 1388: Birth of the Heir * Vaeleen Stonehearth, female human (born early 1388; abdicated 1408) ** Vaeleen (and Connak) was the first of the family line to be born into a landed barony. Instead of just the city real estate and certain nearby support lands, a barony was a level of political responsibility that arguably greater than the city "dukes." ** Vaeleen was a rare kind of intellect – but suffered commensurate social anxiety. She was unable to keep her composure in front of people and after nearly died of a stroke after addressing House elders in a public forum. She abdicated her claim to Stonehearth. ** She would go on to work on the calculus of theoretical primal magic. * Connak Stonehearth, male human (born late 1388) ** Was probably smarter than average, but it was difficult to tell when the comparison was his older sister. Instead, he took the opposite tack as Vaeleen, becoming the class clown (where she was serious), becoming the fighter as she became the wizard, becoming the performer as she became the recluse. He did not expect her 1408 abdication. * 6th generation, House Stonehearth * Reign: 1412-1430 1407: Marriage * Connak Stonehearth, House (19) ** At the time, second in line to the newly created Coronet of the Marquisate. A flamboyant swashbuckling type, he was on his way through the Arms and never expected to get married. He was surprised to find a woman who was as crazy as he was and the short-notice marriage caught the House off guard. ** After his sister's abdication, Connak continued his course in the Arms, going through the same requirements as average recruits, including two years as an infantry soldier before becoming an Arms Marine. This was also frowned on, but his track record made the risk ratio worth it: if he survived, it would be excellent leadership experience. ** Indeed, his time going over the beach of the Winding Water River, as well as the Sword Coast, fighting trolls and undead alike, made him the kind of leader that was beloved because he led the troops from the front – and the only one that could follow in the leadership footsteps of his mother. * Jennae La'Dhavian, human female (19) ** Disenfranchised from an aristocratic Waterdeep family (who were actually one of the Masked Lords), Jennae's rebellious nature led her to the sea. Very well educated, she walked a fine line between merchant and pirate. She was disowned by her family over differences on philanthropy – and didn't look back as she embraced a buccaneer's life. ** She met Connak in Neverwinter, just a year after House Stonehearth (already a Tethyrian barony) had declared themselves a Baldurian marquisate. Connak was still second in line to the Coronet at this point (and certain he'd never fill that role), North Point was freshly founded and still being built. She fell hard for the devil-may-care maritime fighter and those feelings were reciprocal. While it surprised many that he might "settle down," that he connected enough for a wedding was a testament to her own intelligence and feisty disposition. 1409: Birth of the Heir * Hudson Stonehearth, male human * 7th generation, House Stonehearth * First to be born in North Point * Reign: 1430-1452 * Hudson was the first of the family line to be born into an existing marquisate. By now, the House was effectively a sovereignty, and also accounted for holdings in and around Baldur's Gate, properties purchased and developed in Waterdeep and the northeast corner barony of Impresk in the kingdom of Tethyr. 1426: Marriage * Hudson Stonehearth, House (17) ** Hudson was the closest that House Stonehearth had ever come to an arranged marriage. The relationship was a lucky strike after Brielle Esparia from House Esparia, Cormyr, came west to Stonehearth for an education (and secret diplomatic mission in 1426). ** Hudson was a construction-minded leader, spearheading the effort that would eventually lead to the 1430 Arcane Construction and Demolition (ACD) teams. Militarily, he was a proponent of Stonehearth Arms firepower, marking the second aspect of his eventual legacy: an army with the capacity to erase mountains – and fight the Shadovar (and anybody else) in a toe-to-toe fight (and with 1/10th the soldiers). * Brielle Esparia, human female (17) ** House Esparia was steward of the barony of Espar (a village on the western edge of the Cormyrean King's Forest, nestled in the eastern foothills of the Thunder Peaks). The House had risen and declined several times in the last few centuries, to be reconstituted again after the death of Lord Hezom (a human cleric of Helm in the mid-late 1300s). ** Brielle would go on to be an ambassador for the house; an articulate but personable diplomatic superstar through the Sword Coast and Western Faerûn. This included relations to, and often for, the Lords' Alliance. ** As for the arcane education, that was fulfilled as well – in full Stonehearth® Primal Magic mode – and Brielle used that to absolute maximum effect when winning over an audience. 1429: Birth of the Heir * Adrienne Stonehearth, human female * 8th generation, House Stonehearth * Reign: 1452-1475 1449: Marriage * Adrienne Stonehearth, House (20) ** Adrienne grew up around the massive construction projects of her father and around the courts and courtiers of her mother, both the Stonehearth court and the courts her mother and the Stonehearth entourage visited. From that, Adrienne had a true sense of geopolitics and an exceptional grasp of the inner workings of foreign affairs and how that affected Stonehearth. ** Adrienne was a competent wizard, psionicist and fencer – including a two year stint in the Stonehearth Arms where she served as an exceptional musketeer. It was in the arms she met a fellow corporal, fell in love, and at the end of her two years, got married. * Brucelles ("Bruce") Whitcliffe, human male, commoner fighter ** After his marriage, he spent an additional 4 years in the infantry to complete the full 6 (though at this point, given the hazards, he had options to transfer to different areas of service). At the end of his compulsory service, he switched to the rangers, though stayed "close to home" with his primary operational area around the Troll Hills. He was leading the mission that surveilled Warlock's Keep during the 1458 Flow of Bones attack and his squad confirmed the massive explosion in the Netherese ruins when the lich phylactery was remotely destroyed. ** Bruce went on to the Sergeants-at-Arms after four years of service as a Ranger, and there his record disappeared from public view. Trained into intelligence collection, casework for human intelligence, psionics and more, he started traveling as the military "husband of Adrienne" – with a gregarious persona that downplayed how much real action he'd seen. For that that didn't know, they universally underestimated him. For those that did know, they knew he was usually the most dangerous man in the room – and his loyalty to Adrienne and Stonehearth was absolute. ** Bruce would go on to become Commandant of the Stonehearth Sergeants-at-Arms, spymaster of the Coronet. 1451: Birth of the Heir * Braeden ("Brenn") Stonehearth * 9th generation, House Stonehearth * Reign: 1475-current 1473: Marriage * Braeden ("Brenn") Stonehearth, House (22) ** Braeden was truly a fusion of his parents, but his expression leaned toward his father. That much was evident by his pursuit of combat from an early age. He was qualified as a technical Swordmage at 15 years old and won royal dispensation to enter the Arms early (at 16 years old) by passing all the tests required. He was within the top 3 in every category (the first time that had ever been done), but wasn't the top in any of them (which was profoundly frustrating and highly motivational). ** He completed a full 6-year tour of duty as an infantry soldier, including time taken for advancement to officer status during the rotations. He volunteered for special duty, he was ultimately dependable and very much in the mould of his father. His assessments after the Trollclaw Malice incursion of 1471 would pave the trail for the eventual Stonehearth initiative to annex and neutralize the Trollclaw Hills. ** It was on a 1472 assignment to Impresk that he met an aspiring cleric, who'd instead become a sorcerer due to the Time of Troubles issues with the gods. She had no idea who he was beyond a Stonhearth Arms officer who was reviewing defensive plans for the barony (and how it related to the greater Tethyr area). He told her about the Durham Academy of Light, and the "non-denominational" growth of the Church of Light in Stonehearth. She became a local advisor to the "handsome officer" while he assessed Impresk and accompanied him back to Stonehearth... * Evelinn Avendale, half-elf female (24) sorcerer/cleric ** A member of the Hill Clans of Impresk, her own clan hailing from just above Impresk Lake, she was a moderate outsider everywhere she went simply by nature of her mixed-race heritage. Nominally accepted because of her cross-race beauty, she was briefly a follower of Sune but given her own turbulent life, it spoke volumes that she became a follower of Ilmater and peripheral member of the Church of Ilmater. Given the Time of Troubles, she herself had become a sorceress and adventurer and was versed in Stonehearth methods of non-divine magical healing as previously promoted from Baldur's Gate decades prior. ** A pacifist at heart, it surprised her that she fell for a soldier – though this Brenn individual was more typical of the stories and experiences of Stonehearth than other martial types. Over the months he was in Impresk, there were little reveals – such as his ability to perform magic – that kept washing away expectations. By the time his assignment concluded, they'd fallen in love – and she accepted his invitation to go back to (dangerous) North Point Keep with him. Only then did she learn he was effectively the Crown Prince of the Stonehearth Marquisate... ** Evelinn went on to study at the Durham Academy of Light, where her sorcery background was a slingshot into positive-planar clericism. She would go on to promote non-violence and forgiveness as the way to enlightenment. She eventually concluded that chosen undeath was a forgivable perversion but non-consensual undeath (i.e.; most undead) was the ultimate suffering to be alleviated. Evelinn's own research would be a key tactical component of the plan to neutralize Warlock's Crypt (and everything inside it). 1475: Birth of the Heir * Elianor Stonehearth * 10th generation, House Stonehearth * A natural sorcerer in her youth, and just-as-natural primal wizard, appears to be planetouched. The signs include positive plane-charged cantrips and slight golden sparkle to her eyes, though it doesn't fit any of the "usual" forms of planetouched pathology. This was likely sparked by her mother's deep involvement in positive-plane research and development at the time, but so far, isn't considered a "negative" – just a thing to keep an eye on. Category:Hall of Records